Politics
Black Sea security, ties on agenda as Turkish FM visits Bulgaria
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will pay an official visit to neighboring Bulgaria on June 11 for talks expected to focus on expanding cooperation in strategic sectors, regional security and Türkiye’s relations with the European Union, Foreign Ministry sources said.
The visit comes as Ankara and Sofia continue to strengthen ties based on good neighborly relations and their shared status as NATO allies. Fidan last visited Bulgaria in January 2024.
According to the sources, Fidan is expected to discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in energy, transportation, connectivity and the defense industry, while exploring new opportunities for collaboration between the two countries during his meetings.
The Turkish minister is also expected to underline the importance of close coordination between Türkiye and Bulgaria in promoting stability and prosperity across the Balkans through a regional ownership approach.
Bulgaria plays a key role in Türkiye’s land transportation links with Europe, serving as a major transit route for trade and passenger traffic. Turkish officials are expected to raise expectations for the smooth movement of goods and travelers across the border, an issue of growing importance as bilateral trade continues to expand.
According to official figures, the trade volume between the two countries exceeded 8.4 billion euros ($9.70 billion) in 2025, making Türkiye one of Bulgaria’s largest trading partners.
Fidan is also expected to reiterate Türkiye’s priorities regarding relations with the European Union, including its long-standing goal of full EU membership, and emphasize the importance Ankara places on Bulgaria’s support within that framework.
Regional and international security issues are likely to feature prominently in the discussions. The Turkish minister is expected to stress that Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to have significant consequences for European security and stability in the Black Sea region, while reaffirming Türkiye’s support for diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.
Fidan is also expected to highlight the role of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group, established by Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania, in enhancing maritime safety and freedom of navigation in the region.
The talks are also expected to address developments in the Middle East, including the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, tensions involving Iran, and efforts to maintain dialogue between Tehran and Washington.
More than 1 million people of Turkish descent live in Bulgaria, making it the Balkan country with the largest Turkish minority population. The two countries also cooperate closely in regional organizations, including the Southeast European Cooperation Process and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.
The Turkish minister was scheduled to represent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit in Sofia on Wednesday, where regional leaders are expected to discuss cooperation, security and economic development across the Balkans.
The summit, hosted by Bulgaria under the theme “Strengthening Regional Unity for a Stable, Secure and Sustainable Future: Reflections on 30 Years of Partnership and Progress,” brings together heads of state and government, foreign ministers from 13 participating countries and the secretary-general of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), the operational arm of the SEECP.
The first edition of National Security Conferences, organized by the National Security Council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was held in Ankara on Tuesday.
Addressing the event at the Presidential Complex, Erdoğan outlined the progress Türkiye made in security and other fields despite multiple challenges and how they envisioned the future for the country as an influential power.
The conferences are organized upon the instructions of Erdoğan, and the Office of the Secretary-General of the National Security Council said they aim to deepen knowledge on national security matters and enhance viewpoints on those matters for harmony on the knowledge for administrators or relevant institutions.
In his speech, Erdoğan hailed the transformation of the National Security Council, which was once tasked with other issues such as “inspection of work of cinema and music.”
“This is one of the silent revolutions in the state administration now oriented on national will and civilian politics,” Erdoğan said.
“This is valuable both for Turkish democracy and national security,” Erdoğan said.
The council was once dominated by military brass, which employed it to deliver ultimatums to the governments in the dark times of military tutelage in the country, preceding the governments of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Erdoğan stated that Türkiye has acquired power and is set to gain more thanks to the advantages of the executive presidency system inaugurated in 2018. The system streamlined Türkiye’s governance and sped up decision-making mechanisms, especially in matters of urgency like national security.
He noted Türkiye’s location beset with challenges and how its ancestors established states spanning from Europe to Central Asia.
“We have faced countless challenges (throughout history), but we always rose from the ashes like a phoenix after every fall. Today, we have nothing to rely on to maintain our state’s security other than our own power,” he said, adding that this was the understanding that led to the creation of the Republic of Türkiye and guided more than 40 years of counterterrorism efforts against the terrorist group PKK.
“We paid a heavy price, but we gained much more. Especially through our strategy to eradicate the terrorism in its source we adapted after the betrayal called July 15, we made great achievements both in the country and abroad,” he said, referring to the 2016 coup attempt by military infiltrators of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ),” he said.
Erdoğan underlined that Turkish cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria “shattered the glass ceiling” (of acting upon instructions of other countries or relying on them for weaponry) and “launched a new era in our security paradigm.”
“Türkiye is no longer a country delivered a role in scenarios of others. It is now a country writing its own stories, a playmaker in its region,” Erdoğan emphasized. “They don’t let us live in these lands if they catch us off guard. We have no option but to stay strong (to survive),” he added.
He referred to the terror-free Türkiye initiative to end the PKK’s campaign of terrorism and said it was part of the strategic vision of the state in the new century and was beyond a mere security policy. “When the process is fully accomplished, it will strengthen our home front and open new doors for our nation,” Erdoğan stated.
“In our age’s understanding of security, attacks on energy lines as well as cyberthreats that render the banking system inoperable directly fall within the scope of national security. On battlefields, software plays as decisive a role as tanks and missiles. We attach great importance to data security. When used correctly, artificial intelligence accelerates the decision-making process. Artificial intelligence also harbors serious risks. Handling artificial intelligence as a security issue with ethical, legal and social dimensions is a necessity rather than a choice,” Erdoğan also said.
Türkiye has been one of the countries that best reads battlefields, first notices the changing security paradigm and prepares itself for this early on. We have strived to continuously improve ourselves. By strengthening our defense industry, we have minimized our foreign dependency. We see the value of our capacity very clearly when we look at the crises surrounding us. We will build the big and powerful Türkiye, which finds its meaning in the phrase “The Century of Türkiye,” step by step. Our source of inspiration is our nation,” he added.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday notified a new round of diplomatic appointments, assigning ambassadors and senior diplomats to key overseas missions, including Türkiye’s embassies in Iran, Ukraine and Iceland, diplomatic sources said.
According to the sources, Ambassador Ahmet Aydın Doğan, currently head of foreign relations and protocol at the Turkish Parliament, was appointed ambassador to Iran, while Türkiye’s ambassador to Ukraine, Mustafa Levent Bilgen, was assigned as the country’s first ambassador to Iceland, where Ankara is establishing an embassy in Reykjavik.
Among other appointments, Ambassador Alper Aktaş was named ambassador to North Macedonia, while Ambassador Fatih Yıldız was appointed ambassador to South Korea. Ambassador Burak Akçapar, Türkiye’s permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, was assigned as ambassador to the Netherlands.
The diplomatic reshuffle also included appointments to several Middle Eastern, African and European capitals. Hakan Karaçay was named ambassador to Jordan, Hüseyin Ergani to Oman and Can Oğuz to Kuwait.
Ayşe Sözen Usluer, currently the Foreign Ministry’s representative in Istanbul, was appointed permanent representative to the U.N. Office in Geneva. Raziye Bilge Koçyiğit was assigned as Türkiye’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe.
Additional appointments included Fatma Ceren Yazgan as ambassador to Ukraine, Senem Güzel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nazmiye Başaran to Moldova and Necati Sancaktutan to Bahrain.
In Africa, Ferhat Alkan was appointed ambassador to Somalia, Ayça Oşafoğlu Inam to Mozambique, Selin Özaydın to Kenya, Fahri Türker Oba to Sudan and Özgür Gökmen to Gambia.
Further appointments included Havva Yonca Gündüz Özçeri as ambassador to Estonia, Kaan Esener to the Philippines and Fikriye Aslı Güven to Namibia.
The appointments are part of Türkiye’s regular diplomatic rotation process and come as Ankara continues efforts to expand its diplomatic presence and engagement across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) joins the growing trend of reshuffles like its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). As the MHP replaced several heads of its provincial branches, the AK Party plans a similar move. The party’s chairs for the provinces of Adana, Diyarbakır, Giresun and Siirt left office in recent weeks and more reshuffles are expected in the coming weeks, media outlets report.
The party’s organization directorate, in charge of local branches, pursues a five-stage model for the reshuffle, the Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday. This week, the Organization will start conducting votes among members in every province to identify candidates for next provincial chair. The party also seeks input from local civic society organizations, the business world, and opinion leaders to pick candidates. Separately, it will discuss the candidates with former local officials of the party, lawmakers, mayors and local politicians. Every candidate’s economic and social reputation will be assessed for the reshuffle before the candidates are presented to the party’s headquarters. Finally, the report will be presented to the party’s chair, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. After these stages, three candidates will be interviewed for each province. The reshuffle is expected to be wrapped up this month, according to the Sabah newspaper, two months before the anniversary of the AK Party.
Evolved from a modest gathering of the “Movement of the Virtuous,” the party boasts a streak of successive election victories over two decades. It is credited with transforming Türkiye in the first two decades of the 2000s, from education and health care to the arts, democracy, human rights, defense industry and energy.
Nowadays, the party, under the leadership of Erdoğan, is working toward achieving the ambitious Century of Türkiye vision, a new set of reforms aimed at enhancing Türkiye’s standing in the world and improving the lives of the Turkish nation in all fields.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez discussed bilateral relations and global developments during talks in Istanbul on Monday, according to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.
During the meeting, Erdoğan said Türkiye would continue to stand by the people of Venezuela and underscored Ankara’s commitment to expanding cooperation with Caracas across a range of sectors, particularly trade, energy and mining.
The leaders also reviewed steps aimed at reaching the two countries’ shared goal of increasing bilateral trade volume to $3 billion, while exchanging views on regional and international developments.
Rodriguez, who is visiting Türkiye at Erdoğan’s invitation, was received with an official ceremony before the leaders moved on to one-on-one and delegation-level meetings.
The talks were attended by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran and Chief Foreign Policy and Security Adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç.
The meeting brought together senior officials from both countries as Türkiye and Venezuela continue efforts to strengthen cooperation and deepen bilateral ties.
Türkiye on Monday welcomed the successful completion of Armenia’s parliamentary election and expressed hope that the post-election period would create conditions conducive to the signing of a final peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said it was pleased that the election had been conducted peacefully and wished the results to be beneficial for the Armenian people.
The ministry voiced hope that developments following the vote would pave the way for a comprehensive peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a step seen as critical for lasting stability in the South Caucasus.
Türkiye will continue to support regional peace, stability and prosperity on the basis of the shared interests of countries in the region, the statement said.
According to preliminary results, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party secured an outright parliamentary majority, winning 61 of the legislature’s 105 seats with nearly 50% of the vote.
Official election results are expected to be announced on Tuesday.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Monday strongly criticized a newly signed defense agreement between the Greek Cypriot administration and France, warning that the deal ignores the realities on the island and risks fueling tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.
TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed by French and Greek Cypriot defense officials was a unilateral move that disregards the existence of the Turkish Cypriot people and the political realities of Cyprus.
“The agreement ignores the current realities of the island, fundamental principles of international law and the delicate balance that must be preserved in the region,” Üstel said in a statement.
He argued that the deal would create a legal framework for a more permanent presence of foreign military personnel on the island and accused the Greek Cypriot administration of pursuing policies that could transform Cyprus into a hub for foreign military deployments.
Üstel also criticized Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, saying his administration had systematically expanded military and strategic partnerships since taking office, a trend he described as harmful to both Cyprus and wider Eastern Mediterranean security.
The TRNC prime minister warned that efforts to increase France’s military footprint in the region could undermine the fragile balance in the Eastern Mediterranean and deepen regional polarization.
He said the agreement comes at a sensitive time when diplomatic efforts are underway to promote dialogue on the island, including contacts led by the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy.
Reaffirming the Turkish Cypriot position, Üstel said a lasting settlement, sustainable stability and genuine peace on the island could only be achieved through recognition of the sovereign equality of the two peoples and the equal international status of the two states.
He also stressed that no initiative targeting the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people and Türkiye would succeed, while calling on the international community to respect the realities on the island and adhere to international law.
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